OBJECTIVE To compare Piver radical hysterectomy (RH) with nerve-sparing radical hysterectomy (NSRH) for cervical cancer patients in terms of postoperative physiology of pelvic autonomic nerve and perioperative complications. METHODS Ninety-three consecutive patients with invasive cervical cancer underwent RH (69 cases) or NSRH (24 cases) from March 2005 to March 2006 at Fudan University Cancer Hospital. The postoperative function of bladder, bowel and sexual function and perioperative morbidity were assessed. RESULTS Compared with patients received RH, patients underwent NSRH presented a significantly prompter recovery of bladder function (8.7 vs. 14.8 days, P < 0.01) and bowel function (2.9 vs. 3.2 days, P < 0.01). However, there were not significant difference in terms of operative time (146.7 vs. 143.3 minutes, P > 0.05), estimated blood loss (441.7 vs. 565.9 ml, P > 0.05) and hospital stay (10.21 vs. 10.19 days, P > 0.05). No positive surgical margin was found in both groups. No surgery complication was found in NSRH group, while there were 1 case presented the infection of lymphocyst and 1 case presented intestinal obstruction in RH group. After following up postoperative 6 months, the patients received NSRH had a higher rate of satisfaction at sex activity than those received RH (29% vs. 9%, P = 0.042). CONCLUSIONS NSRH is safe and feasible surgical management for cervical cancer patients, which would improved the physiology of pelvic autonomic nerve postoperatively.